Courier December Courier - Page 13

BUSINESS
RELATING TO GOVERNMENT
INSIGHTS ON U.S. LEGISLATIVE ISSUES AND INDUSTRY TOPICS
Real ID just got real
FOLLOWING THE TERRORIST ATTACKS
on Sept. 11, 2001, recommendations
from the subsequent 9/11 Commission
Report directed the U.S. federal govern-
ment to set standards for “the issuance
of sources of identification, such as
driver’s licenses.”
The Real ID Act, enacted on May 11,
2005, created requirements for state-
issued driver’s licenses and identifi-
cation cards to be recognized by the
federal government for official pur-
poses. Defined by the U.S. Secretary of
Homeland Security, “official purposes”
include boarding commercially-operated
flights and entering federal facilities
and nuclear power plants.
The act requires that all driver’s
licenses and IDs must include the
person’s full legal name, residential
address, birth date, gender, photograph,
signature and an ID number. Most IDs
already meet these requirements.
Added security measures of the Real ID
Act, though, include having a barcode and
security devices meant to prevent tam-
pering or counterfeiting on all IDs. And all
information—including ID card data and
driving records—must be entered into a
national database of driver’s license and
ID card holders from all states.
After several years of postponements
and extensions, the final deadlines for
Real ID implementation are quickly
approaching. Phases 1 through 3 of the
planned Real ID implementation pro-
cess primarily involve access to federal
facilities, the Department of Homeland
Security headquarters and nuclear power
plants. But the traveling public should
focus on Phase 4, which deals with
access to domestic commercial air travel.
Beginning Jan. 22, 2018, all driver’s
licenses or ID cards used at airports to
gain access to a commercial airline must
be issued by a state that either is com-
pliant with Real ID requirements or has
been granted an exception or extension.
U.S. passengers who have noncompliant
state-issued driver’s licenses or IDs—and
come from states that have not been
granted an extension—will need to have
an alternate form of acceptable ID for
domestic air travel, such as a U.S. pass-
port. Travelers whose states have been
granted an extension will be able to use
their regular driver’s licenses or IDs.
As of Oct. 31, the Department of
Homeland Security had granted 17
states an extension on Real ID imple-
mentation and enforcement through
Oct. 10, 2018. This means that residents
in those 17 states will not have ID
problems when boarding a commercial
domestic aircraft or when entering a
federal facility through next October.
DHS is currently reviewing extension
requests from six other noncompliant
states. In the meantime, DHS says there
will be no change in Real ID enforce-
ment status for these states. So unless
those states are granted extensions,
driver’s licenses and IDs issued by
those states will not be considered Real
ID-compliant beginning Jan. 22.
And by Oct. 1, 2020, every U.S. pas-
senger on a domestic commercial
flight must be able to present a Real
ID-compliant form of ID or another form
of acceptable ID, such as a U.S. passport.
NTA appreciates the added travel
and aviation security that will come
with full implementation of Real ID. To
ensure that the traveling public does
not have issues at the airport, though,
NTA asks that travel planners pay
close attention to the Department of
Homeland Security’s webpage on Real
ID for updates on extensions granted
to states: dhs.gov/real-id. Another
helpful resource is the full list of the
Transportation Security Administration’s
acceptable forms of ID, which is found
on the TSA webpage: tsa.gov/travel/
security-screening/identification.
Check the list at the bottom for com-
pliancy status of states as of Oct. 31.
Signal Group is a Washington, D.C.,
lobbying firm retained by NTA to advise
members about travel-related issues
and legislation.
Compliant states: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of
Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada,
New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia,
Wisconsin, Wyoming
Noncompliant states with an extension: Alaska, California, Idaho, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts,
Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania,
South Carolina, Virginia, Washington
States still under review: Illinois, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, New York, Rhode Island
NTAonline.com
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